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Animator Bill Plympton to appear in person Thursday night with his new film IDIOTS AND ANGELS On Thursday night we're pleased to welcome independent animator and cartoonist Bill Plympton with his latest hand-drawn feature film, IDIOTS AND ANGELS , his fifth. A two-time Oscar nominee (for "Your Face" and "Guard Dog", two of over 30 shorts he had made), Plympton has a distinctive minimalist style in which pencil sketches come to surreal life, and pliable, putty-faced characters morph endlessly into grotesque variations of themselves, and often suffer violence or other indignities. Plympton's diabolically funny, subversive work has been seen for decades in film festivals, animation compilations, and on MTV; he has also done animated music videos for Kanye West and "Weird Al" Yankovic. IDIOTS AND ANGELS follows a misanthropic barfly, an asshole everyman, who tries to stop himself from performing out-of-character good deeds after he sprouts a pair of wings. The film has no dialogue but lots of music -- by Tom Waits, Pink Martini, and others. It will be preceded by Plympton's new short "The Cow Who Wanted To Be a Hamburger" (2010), which was short-listed for the 2011 Academy Awards. Plympton will answer audience questions after the screening. He will also give every attendee who wants one a signed sketch, drawn on the spot. This program is for adults only! Special admission is $12; members and CIA students & staff $8. No passes, twofers, or radio winners will be honored. Tickets can be purchased at door after 6 pm on Thursday. Cash/check only; no credit cards. Both movies will show a second time on Saturday night at 9:05 for regular prices, but Plympton will not attend that screening. THE STRANGE CASE OF ANGELICA is the latest masterpiece by Portugal's 102-year-old Manoel de Oliveira Called the best film of 2010 by J. Hoberman in The Village Voice, THE STRANGE CASE OF ANGELICA is the latest movie by Portugal's 102-year-old phenom Manoel de Oliveira. It is one of his best (and also includes the centenarian's first use of CGI). The movie follows of a loner photographer who is summoned one rainy night to take a picture of the recently-deceased daughter of a wealthy couple. Laid out in her wedding dress, this beautiful young woman comes alive for the photographer and smiles at him when he looks at her through the viewfinder. Immediately smitten, he retreats from the land of the living and finds himself drawn to her unknown netherworld beyond. See this surreal, lyrical love story on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. CIA Prez Grafton Nunes to introduce John Ford's THE GRAPES OF WRATH on Friday Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, and John Carradine (David and Keith's dad) star in John Ford's powerful 1940 film version of John Steinbeck's novel THE GRAPES OF WRATH , about a family of Oklahoma farmers who travel to California during the Great Depression to look for work. One of the first 25 "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" films selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, it will be introduced on Friday night by Cleveland Institute of Art President Grafton Nunes, a film scholar and John Ford fan. But the new 35mm print will also play on Sunday night. See four great silent comedy shorts in CHAPLIN MUTUAL MASTERPIECES In 1916 and 1917, Charlie Chaplin directed and starred in 12 shorts for the Mutual Company-all of them masterpieces. CHAPLIN MUTUAL MASTERPIECES , showing Saturday and Sunday, contains the final four: "Easy Street," in which the Little Tramp becomes a policeman in a rough neighborhood; "The Cure," in which an alcoholic goes to a spa for rehab; "The Immigrant," about a newly-arrived foreigner's travails in America; and "The Adventurer," in which Charlie plays an escaped convict who becomes a hero. All are silent with music tracks. Kids 12 & under can see them for only $6. So can non-members who print out this post and present it at the box office. (Members who do this would pay only $5.) It's our Deal of the Week! (Limit two discount admissions per print-out) Films This Week Thu., Apr. 14, at 7:00 pm A Special Event! Bill Plympton in Person! IDIOTS AND ANGELS Fri., Apr. 15, at 7:00 pm Sun., Apr. 17, at 8:20 pm John Ford's THE GRAPES OF WRATH Friday show introduced by CIA Prez Grafton Nunes! Fri., Apr. 15, at 9:45 pm Sat., Apr. 16, at 7:05 pm Sun., Apr.17, at 4:15 pm Manoel de Oliveira's THE STRANGE CASE OF ANGELICA Sat., Apr. 16, at 5:15 pm Sun., Apr. 17, at 6:30 pm Four great two-reel comedies CHAPLIN MUTUAL MASTERPIECES Sat., Apr. 16, at 9:05 pm IDIOTS AND ANGELS Bill Plympton not in attendance at this show Films Next Week Thu., Apr. 21, at 6:45 pm THE TIME WE KILLED Thu., Apr. 21, at 8:40 pm Sat., Apr. 23, at 9:40 pm CELL 211 Fri., Apr. 22, at 7:30 pm Sat., Apr. 23, at 5:15 pm THE KID Fri., Apr. 22, at 9:15 pm Sat., Apr. 23, at 7:00 pm OUTSIDE THE LAW NO FILMS SUN., APR. 24 The Cinematheque The Cleveland Institute of Art 11141 East Boulevard Cleveland, OH 44106 Phone: (216) 421-7450 http://cia.edu/cinematheque